State v. Williamson

671 So. 2d 1208, 1996 WL 148471
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 3, 1996
Docket27,871-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 671 So. 2d 1208 (State v. Williamson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Williamson, 671 So. 2d 1208, 1996 WL 148471 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

671 So.2d 1208 (1996)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
James K. WILLIAMSON, Appellant.

No. 27,871-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

April 3, 1996.

*1209 Kurt J. Goins, New Orleans, for Appellant.

Richard Ieyoub, Attorney General, Paul J. Carmouche, District Attorney, Theresa H. Bloomfield, Catherine M. Estopinal, Asst. District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before NORRIS, WILLIAMS and GASKINS, JJ.

GASKINS, Judge.

The defendant, James K. Williamson, was convicted of first degree murder and was sentenced to serve life in prison without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. The defendant appeals, asserting that there was insufficient evidence upon which to base his conviction. For the reasons stated above, we affirm the conviction and sentence of the defendant.

FACTS

The defendant was convicted of the first degree murder of Estal Thompson. The offense occurred at the Soap Opera Washateria on Pines Road in Shreveport on June 19, 1993. The defendant entered the washateria and was in the process of abducting Vickie Ferguson, his former paramour. Mr. Thompson and his sons, Michael and Scott, intervened. All three men were shot by the defendant. Estal Thompson died at the scene. Scott and Michael Thompson were seriously injured, but survived.

The defendant had a long term relationship with Vickie Ferguson. The defendant and Ms. Ferguson lived together for a number of years and had a child. In May, 1993, the defendant and Ms. Ferguson ended their relationship. Ms. Ferguson, who was employed as a waitress at a diner, met Scott Thompson and began a relationship with him. Scott Thompson, his father, Estal Thompson and his brother, Michael, were from Toledo, Ohio. The men were in Shreveport working on a welding project at a local business. A family friend, Jerry Talbert, was also working with the Thompsons.

The men stayed at a motel on Monkhouse Drive and ate most of their meals at the diner where Ms. Ferguson was employed. In June, Ms. Ferguson began staying at the motel with Scott Thompson. In early June, the defendant and Scott Thompson had a confrontation at a hotel lounge in which the defendant shoved Scott Thompson. The altercation ended when the barkeeper threatened to summon the police.

On June 9, 1993, Ms. Ferguson filed a petition in juvenile court for a protective order against the defendant and for sole custody of their child. She was granted temporary sole custody and a temporary protective order was entered against the defendant, pending a hearing on June 15, 1993.

On June 15, 1993, a house owned by the defendant's sister was burned in an arson fire. Ownership of the house was to be transferred to the defendant in order for him to obtain a second mortgage so that he could finance a custody battle with Ms. Ferguson over the couple's child. The defendant contended that Ms. Ferguson was responsible for the fire.

That morning, the defendant was served with notice to appear in juvenile court that afternoon. At the juvenile court hearing, the defendant was granted a continuance to obtain counsel. The protective order and custody order were extended and the matter was set for hearing on June 29, 1993.

On June 19, 1993, the date of the present offense, the Thompsons, Mr. Talbert and Ms. Ferguson ate a late breakfast at the diner. They then went to the washateria to do laundry. Ms. Ferguson testified that the defendant telephoned her several times that day at the diner, conveying threats. The defendant contends that Ms. Ferguson telephoned him and asked him to come to the washateria to see their child.

The defendant arrived at the washateria, armed with a .45 pistol, and confronted Ms. *1210 Ferguson. Ms. Ferguson told the washateria attendant, Sandra Norwood, that there was someone there who was not supposed to be around her. According to Ms. Norwood, the defendant seized Ms. Ferguson by the hair and said, "If you don't go with me, I'm going to start shooting." Ms. Norwood went to a storage room and called 911.

Scott and Michael Thompson rushed at the defendant in an attempt to disarm him. Estal Thompson walked toward his sons to offer assistance. The defendant began firing, striking Estal Thompson twice in the heart, fatally wounding him. Scott Thompson was shot in the eye, neck and shoulder. He lost his eye. Michael Thompson was shot in the chest.

Ms. Ferguson managed to break away from the defendant during the altercation with the Thompsons. She fled to the storage room in which Ms. Norwood was calling 911. The defendant then came into the storage room, seized Ms. Ferguson by the hair and forced her to leave the washateria with him, at gun point. As the defendant fled, Ms. Norwood recorded his license plate number.

As they drove away from the scene, Ms. Ferguson was able to get the .45 pistol away from the defendant. She threw the gun out the car window. The gun was later retrieved by law enforcement officers a short distance from the washateria and was determined to be the same gun used to kill Estal Thompson. According to Ms. Ferguson, the defendant simply laughed and said that he had another gun and that they were going to die together.

The defendant's automobile broke down several miles from the washateria. The defendant forced Ms. Ferguson out of the car and into a drainage ditch where he began choking her. This activity was observed by passing motorists who stopped to render aid to Ms. Ferguson. One motorist, who was armed with a gun, threatened to shoot the defendant if he did not release Ms. Ferguson. The defendant eventually released Ms. Ferguson and fled into a wooded area.

The defendant was apprehended the next day. He was arrested and charged by grand jury indictment with the first degree murder of Estal Thompson. He was tried and found guilty as charged by unanimous jury verdict. The jury recommended that the defendant be sentenced to life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. The trial court sentenced the defendant accordingly. The trial court denied the defendant's post verdict motion for modification of the verdict. In that motion, the defendant asserted that the prosecution failed to prove that the defendant had the requisite specific intent to kill Estal Thompson. The defendant appeals his conviction.

SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE

On appeal, the defendant asserts that there was insufficient evidence upon which to base his conviction of first degree murder. The defendant reasserts his argument that the prosecution failed to show that he had the requisite specific intent to kill Estal Thompson. The defendant argues that he did not know Mr. Thompson and that he fired his weapon only after being attacked by Scott and Michael Thompson. The defendant argues that the evidence is sufficient only to convict him of manslaughter. This argument is without merit.

Legal Principles

The relevant portions of La.R.S. 14:30 define first degree murder as follows:

A. First degree murder is the killing of a human being:
(1) When the offender has specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm and is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of aggravated kidnapping, second degree kidnapping, aggravated escape, aggravated arson, aggravated rape, forcible rape, aggravated burglary, armed robbery, armed robbery, drive-by shooting, first degree robbery, or simple robbery....
(3) When the offender has specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm upon more than one person....

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
671 So. 2d 1208, 1996 WL 148471, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-williamson-lactapp-1996.